The In Between by Olivia Pierce

The In Between
by Olivia Pierce
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Published by: Full Fathom Five - November 12, 2014
Genre: YA, Romance, Death, Supernatural
Rating: 3.5 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Tara Jenkins and Justin Westcroft used to be childhood BFFs. Now in high school, Justin’s a popular, all-star athlete, and Tara spends her days admiring him from afar. But when Tara saves Justin from nearly drowning in a freak accident, he’s unable to get her out of his mind. In no time at all, Tara and Justin fall deeply in love. And even though it’s only high school, they seem destined for a Happily Ever After.

Until tragedy strikes—and this time, Justin’s not so lucky. Tara passes through her days as a shell of her former self: Justin’s dead, but she can still feel his presence, and she can’t seem to let him go.

But there’s a reason for that, and it’s not just grief: Justin is In Between, and he’s still holding on.

They say that when someone saves you, you’re tied to them for life. But what about in the afterlife?

I love reading young adult books even though I'm 37, but this one, and those of it's kind, are a bit too young for me. As someone with a lot of life experience, it was really hard for me to believe the whole 180 Justin did and believe just how "in love" and inseparable he and Tara became in just a short time. Yes, there was a back story friendship. Yes, young love is intense. But, I just didn't feel it. Due to this, it was hard for me to understand why Justin couldn't let go of Tara in the "In Between."

I think that if you're a younger teen, you'll love this book and see it for the romance it's meant to be. It just wasn't right for me.

One Song Away by Molli Moran

One Song Away
by Molli Moran
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Published by: Molli Moran - December 1, 2014
Genre: NA, Music, Friends-Turned-Lovers
Rating: 4.5 Stars

NOTICE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

She needs a fill-in boyfriend. He needs a favor. It’s the perfect, no-strings arrangement until they both realize it’s too real…
Sophie-Claire Wright’s life is like a bad country song on repeat. She keeps running into her cheating ex, her songwriting career isn't taking off, and her roommate just kicked her out of their apartment. With nothing to lose, she decides to do the one thing she said she’d never do: she moves back home. She left her small Southern town with big dreams, but now she’s going home with empty pockets.

Life moves at a slower pace in Sophie’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it hometown, but her well-meaning, matchmaking mama doesn't have a slow gear. Sophie invents a boyfriend to hold off her mother’s efforts, but she’s out of luck when her mom wants to meet him. Sophie panics until she runs into Jake Cooper. Her high school crush (and former best friend) is back in town, too, and when he asks her for a favor, she agrees...on one condition. He says he’ll be her fill-in boyfriend, so it should be simple: re-introduce him to her family and then “break up” with him after a few weeks.

Sophie is sure she’ll be able to resist Jake this time. Sure, she was in love with him years ago, but that was then. This is now, no matter how great he looks, or how she feels around him. But she didn't bargain for moments that feel all too genuine. Dates that don’t seem fake. Kisses that leave her shaken and wanting more. Sweet moments where she forgets they aren't really dating. And she didn't count on old feelings resurfacing and complicating their arrangement—which is starting to feel less like acting and more like the real deal.

Soon, Sophie can’t tell which kisses are real or fake, but she knows she’s in deep...and she thinks Jake is, too. When she gets a chance to go back to Nashville and chase her dreams again, she has a choice to make: stay or go? Continue hoping that the life she wants is one song away, or finally write her own song?

Many books I choose to read involve music and/or friends-turned-lovers settings. One Song Away by Molli Moran gloriously combined both! I've read F-to-L books that have annoyed the crap out of me, but this author does it naturally, expanding upon a foundation of friendship (and possibly more) from their high school years.

Sophie is OOAK and Jake is just adorable. I spent the entire book rooting for their "fake" relationship to become a real one. Again, the author does a fantastic job or finding "turning points" in their relationship several times in the book that allow us to see the natural progression of their feelings for one another.

While there is a sex scene in the book, "Claire" and Jake take their time getting to know one another physically before that ever happens. It was sweet, romantic and intimate. I personally think the intimate foreplay worked for the story as two friends found their way to becoming more.

I'm not a huge fan of the guy on the cover, but other than that, it was a fab book!

Can you tell I really liked this one? Go read it!

A Moment by Marie Hall

A Moment
by Marie Hall
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Published by: Marie Hall Publishing - March 12, 2013
Genre: NA, Childhood Sexual Assault, Romance
Rating: 3 Stars

A chance meeting... Life didn't turn out the way I'd ever hoped it would. I got pregnant at 14. Same year my mom got diagnosed with MS. Dad bailed on us and my life felt like it suddenly started to spiral out of control. I'm 21 now, I go to college, I work hard, trying to make something of myself. I wasn't supposed to be at that burlesque bar Valentine's Day. I wasn't supposed to meet Ryan Cosgrove, but I did. And now nothing will ever be the same. Love born from pain... I'm a retired Marine, an MMA fighter, and when I was younger something terrible happened to me. Life is hard and I'm so tired of pretending its not. I'm in a burlesque bar, drowning my sorrows, trying to shut out the demons breathing down my neck always reminding me I'm not good enough. Then I see Liliana Delgado and something inside of me- something I'd thought long dead- stirs to life. I wonder... can she save me? I hope she can, because I don't think I can save myself. This is our moment...

It's the typical story of the retired Marine with demons and the girl who saves him UNTIL you realize it's a sexual abuse survivor who finds healing from a woman with an Autistic child. It's poignant, loving and intense all at once.

This book is free right now on Kindle!

TTT: Top Ten New To Me Authors from 2014

From the Broke & the Bookish
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Top 10 New to Me Authors from 2014!
1. Chanel Cleeton (I'm obsessed) - I See London, London Falling, French Kissed. If you like Anna & the French Kiss but like things a bit spicier, you'll love this new adult series!

2. Jessica Park - Flat-Out Love. I want to read Flat-Out Celeste too. Has anyone read that one? Did you like it?

3. Cora Carmack - Finding It, Losing It, Faking It - I love the theatre theme that weaves them all together.

4. Shannon Hale - Austenland & Midnight in Austenland. Truth be told, the first installment, although a BRILLIANT idea, was a tad dull. The movie version starring Keri Russell really brought the characters to life. After the movie was written, Ms. Hale wrote the 2nd book, and it was teeming with intrigue and vivacious characters unlike the drippy characters from the first book. Thanks go to the writers of the movie for sparking better characters for Ms. Hale in the second book. I loved it!

5. Amber Hart - Before You. A wonderful spin on the wrong-side-of-the-tracks love, but MUCH more emotional and action-packed. Diego and Faith are a force to be reckoned with.

6. Juliet Madison - Haunted Ever After. Loved this quirky book about a soon-to-be wed girl who is haunted by the ghost of her fiance's ex-gf. Hilarious. I see that she has another funny one coming out soon, The 12 Daves of Christmas (which sounds a lot like the movie, "Letters to Juliet"). I must read that one too, especially since I'm dating a Dave.

7. Peter Monn - The Before Now & After Then. A wonderful coming-of-age LGBT novel.

8. Crystal Spears - Talania: A Trip Down Memory Lane. I love first love, teen, coming-of-age books! While I probably would've titled the book something shorter and sweeter, I absolutely adored this book!! I'd love to read more of her but her Breakneck series about a crime family or her new book Orlando about the porn industry don't interest me.

9. L. A. Witt - Conduct Unbecoming, Starstruck, The Walls of Troy etc. I never knew I'd enjoy m/m romance until I started reading her books!

10. Penelope Ward - Stepbrother Dearest and My Skylar. Stepbrother Dearest was . . . I just loved it! My Skylar wasn't on the same calibur but it was still good. If she has another SD-type calibur book out there, count me in! Should I try her debut, Gemini?

Perpetual Page Turner's End of the Year Survey!

Number Of Books You Read: 89 Arcs + whatever else I read . . .
Number of Re-Reads: The International Series by Chanel Cleeton (2)
Genre You Read The Most From: New Adult

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?The Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead since I loved the VA series. Still loved Adrian, liked Sydney, but hated the other characters and the plot. Couldn't finish it.


3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014? Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher. Who knew someone could write a clever story only told through memos? Julie totally did!


4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014? The International School series by Chanel Cleeton, beginning with I See London. LOVED LOVED LOVED! I'll have my review up tomorrow for the 3rd and final installment, French Kissed!

5. Best series you started in 2014? I loved Chanel Cleeton's International School series as well as T. Torrest's Remember When series.


6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014? I could certainly gush on and on about Chanel Cleeton, but I also like New Adult author Cora Carmack.

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone? Conduct Unbecoming by LA Witt. I'd never read M/M romances, but I really like hers.

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year? The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey. While I usually don't like Dystopian stories, this one was amazing.

9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I'd probably re-read either The Before Now and After Then by Peter Monn. A good coming-of-age m/m young adult novel.

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?
Not sure - maybe Before You by Amber Hart.

11. Most memorable character of 2014?
Samir from I See London

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?
Then & Always by Dani Atkins

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?
What She Lost & Found by ML Garcia

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? Vampire Academy!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2014?
I am not a novella fan, so I avoid those at all cost. The longest was probably The Girl with All the Gifts by MR Carey.

17. Book That Shocked You The Most?
Dear Nobody probably. I love memoirs, but this collection of diary entries were explicit and not what I was expecting.

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!) Maggie & Samir from the International Series by Chanel Cleeton!!!

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year:
Julie & Celeste from Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park. Has anyone read Flat-Out Celeste? I'm trying to decide whether to read it or not.

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously:
The only books I read this year by the same author were sequels, so I can't really pick one.

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Just finished the first book. Haven't written the review yet.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?
Again, Samir from the International Series.

23. Best 2014 debut you read?
I'm honestly really bad at figuring out if an author is a first-time writer or not, so I can't answer without googling every single one of my faves.

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?
Mara Dyer

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?
Turning 16 by Perie Wolford. It was basically a re-telling of the movie "Sixteen Candles" with Sam as a gay high school boy. Loved it. Oh the nostagia!

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?
Talania by Crystal Spears. Cancer? Amnesia? First love? Reminding the first love with amnesia about said love? Tearjearker in the best way!

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?
You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning. I need to write a review for it. It's a long book that shows how a selfish playboy and a self-professed "big" girl grow together and grow in love. Loved it.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?
See #27.

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?
The Austenland books by Shannon Hale. I also highly recommend seeing the movie starring!

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad?
Above by Isla Morely. I really hated that the MC spent most of her life underground and, when she finally escapes, she finds a dystopian society.

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014
It's not a total book blog, but Melbourne on My Mind. We have a lot of the same taste in books & movies.

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014?
All of them? lol

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?
I recently started doing Mish Mash Mondays featuring things going on in my life and/or things on my mind.

4. Best event that you participated in? The blog tours for Chanel Cleeton!

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?Getting my hands on the sequels for I See London by Chanel Cleeton.!

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)? My Mish Mash Posts.

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love? My reviews in general. I don't get a ton of traffic.

9. Best bookish discover (book related sites, book stores, etc.)? Bookish items on Etsy! Love finding unique ones.

10. Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year? No

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015? The Walls Around Us - Nova Ren Suma

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)? Macdeath - Cindy Brown - 1/20/15

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating? I suck b/c I'm not bookish enough to know which are debuts and which aren't!

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015? I want to keep reading the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout - I'm very behind.

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015? Have more time for reading!

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone: I can't find one that I read that I really, really like.